microrobert
06-30-2012, 06:00 PM
Dinosaur coldblooded theory gets dash of cold water
Dinosaurs: coldblooded or warmblooded? Inquiring paleontologists have long wanted to know, and a new study offers thoughts on the issue. Basically, it says that a central line of evidence for coldbloodedness is all wet.
For years, some dinosaur mavens have argued that the ancient beasts were coldblooded, based on the growth patterns seen in fossil bones. Examination revealed that -- like the rings of a tree -- bone material was laid down in layers. The argument went like this: The rings corresponded to periods of active growth followed by periods of slow growth, just what you might expect with a coldblooded animal, which can’t control its inner temperature very well.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-warm-blooded-dinosaurs-20120627,0,3893028.story
Dinosaurs: coldblooded or warmblooded? Inquiring paleontologists have long wanted to know, and a new study offers thoughts on the issue. Basically, it says that a central line of evidence for coldbloodedness is all wet.
For years, some dinosaur mavens have argued that the ancient beasts were coldblooded, based on the growth patterns seen in fossil bones. Examination revealed that -- like the rings of a tree -- bone material was laid down in layers. The argument went like this: The rings corresponded to periods of active growth followed by periods of slow growth, just what you might expect with a coldblooded animal, which can’t control its inner temperature very well.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-warm-blooded-dinosaurs-20120627,0,3893028.story